If you use the link Mr. Rust provided you will find the explanation. “I took over a 20 box trail at Hempfield High School in 2012 that was completely infested with Sparrows due to lack of monitoring. After reading an article in Birds and Blooms that suggested letting light into the boxes to deter sparrows, I started drilling 2 1/2″ holes in the tops of the boxes and then covering them over with plexiglass to keep the water out. Within the first year the 15 boxes that I put skylights in were sparrow free, but the remaining 5 boxes had sparrows in them. So I decided to complete the trail so all 20 boxes had skylights. After doing that, the trail was completely sparrow free. To this day (5-5-15) the trail is completely sparrow free!” ~Dean Rust
What about really hot days... couldn't this literally cook the eggs in the summer? I could see in the spring this might work. Also read that sunlight is really bad for eye development of the nestligs.
@@uhill74 Your box should already have adequate vent holes drilled into the top of the side boards. The bottom board should already have the cut corners. Two and half inch hole in the wooden top shouldn't really make a difference.
@@vernettegypsysoul812 We used a homemade "sparrow spooker" when we had house sparrows show up for the first time last summer. I'm happy to say it worked! The sparrows were harassing our nesting bluebirds...for example, the female sparrow was divebombing the female bluebird as she tried to feed her babies. I was SO upset! We also started using this trap and it worked well too. We used corn and suet as bait. Some people have good luck with popcorn or bread, too. www.sparrowtraps.net/
Dear Dean, For the past two years I have lost many bluebird eggs and babies to sparrows. I tried your skylight in my 6 boxes, and I am delighted to report NOT one sparrow to be seen in any of the boxes. Thank you so much for solving a problem that was driving me crazy. I don't really care why it works: I am just delighted that it does and you shared your findings.
Sparrows primarily look for a partially closed cavity to nest greatly preferring a solid covering over head. Bluebirds being an open forest/meadow not dependent on human habitats are not disturbed by an an opening that allows sunlight to enter their nesting cavity. They are not as picky in this regard. They normally look for a hollow in a tree which is cooler than a house with a sun roof. If you place a bird house with a sunroof in a warmer climates you may want to allow for a bit more venting due to the extra heat that comes from a skylight. Most hardware will have 1/2 inch up to 4 inch circular screened vents that are easy to spray paint and install. By not giving these sparrows perfect bird houses they may not evict the bluebird & look for an easier place to nest. However, if you have a large population of sparrows you could try placing extra boxes for them and they may then leave our bluebirds alone. I place a metal guard around the hole because squirrels and larger birds will enlarge the hole. If and when this happens the bluebirds will desert the nesting box. This method works most of the time. Remember Robins like bird houses too, take a look at their prefered boxes, you will get a better understanding of how diffrent bird think. Owls need boxes as too, what a treat to have them move in. Bats are the most beneficial animal to habe near by, but then need a body of water with in a couple of miles. Look up bat houses too, so easy to build as well.
I recently saw some moss in one of my bluebird houses; and I know from experience these birds are VERY persistent. I added the skylight & it did not return. Very good video !!!
@@saragood8100 I like chickadees too! For fifteen plus years i have had two bird houses about 15-20 feet apart, because of competition for a single house. Some years chickadees/others claimed both, so I made modifications to reserve one for bluebirds.
Thank you very much for your information and also for showing us how to improve our Bluebird Boxes. We have a big problem with Sparrows taking over our bluebird nesting boxes. This year we had no bluebirds at all in our 25 Boxes We will mount our boxes with this new skylight.
It sounds like you have a lot of sparrows! We had them show up on our property for the first time this past summer, harassing our nesting bluebirds. =( We started using this trap and it works very well... you have to follow the directions closely though. www.sparrowtraps.net/ My husband also got me a pellet gun for my birthday I will have no problem using on the sparrows to protect my bluebirds! The only way to truly help the bluebirds is to lower the house sparrow population. Btw, we use corn and suet to attract the house sparrows to the trap. Some people have luck with popcorn and bread, too. Good luck, I hope your bluebirds come back.
@@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane I also got one of those traps last April and have caught and dispatched over 340 House Sparrows since. As a result, I had a nesting pair of Bluebirds last Spring/Summer that raised two clutches and currently have Tree Swallows occupying one of our two boxes and defending the other from House Sparrows.
@@douglaszylstra6942 WOW!!! That is awesome to hear! You are doing an amazing job helping the bluebirds and tree swallows! I can't believe you caught and dispatched that many house sparrows in just a year... that is a crazy amount! That just shows how prolific they can be and how they take over an area and push out native birds. Thank you so much for bringing back the natives... what a great success story!
This is a fantastic idea. Thank you so much for sharing this online. I see this was posted many years ago so I am curious if anyone else has done this recently and had similar success. Also, has anyone used this successfully with tree swallows? It is that time of year and I want to use this for tree swallows in my back yard. Cheers!
Has anyone ever tried painting the inside of the roof white or light blue. People used to do this in the good ‘ol days to discourage nest building on house porches.
I'm trying an even easier solution because I have nothing to lose - sparrows just kicked the bluebirds out of the box a couple of days ago. I cut a hole in the top of the box and just attached the top of a Chinese takeout soup container with screws. It seems to function as a skylight and took me minutes to do.
Make sure you paint your nest boxes a light color like light tan or white. Especially if the boxes will receive any direct sun in the summer. I have tests on my channel that prove simple old weathered boxes at 88°F ambient can go to 108°F in a weathered box which is darker in color. Baby birds will start to die in the 107°F range.
I clicked the link in the description to see if I could buy one of their bluebird boxes, but they are completely sold out. I also noticed that their website hasn't been updated since 2016.
Will this deter other species I want to attract, like chickadees or finches? I haven't seen many bluebirds in my area, Southeast Pennsylvania. I would like to put up a next box, but I don't want sparrows in it.
Wished I'd seen this sooner. I have a pair of blues nesting in my yard right now. The best I can do is shoot the sparrows if I happen to catch them at the bluebird house. After all, I can't work on the house since the blues are nesting in it. I tend to wonder though, does the hole in the top not discourge the bluebirds as well?
If there's a bird on the nest that is legal to kill, you could kill it by putting a netting bag over the opening, then rap on the box and when it flies out, you have it and can then kill it. Much easier than shooting. Safer, too.
I find the bluebirds like to perch on the roof but can't because of the slickness of the plexiglass. They are checking out the box today. Is there a way to make it so they can stand on the roof?
Thanks Reggie. Good idea. These were already made for me but I ended up gluing strips of wood across the front of the top to give them wood perch for their feet. Now to just wait for them to come back.
We added the skylight to our bluebird house and today I saw a sparrow go into the box. My husband checked the box and sure enough..the sparrows have nested in the box. I need other ideas please.
What I'm not understanding is that house sparrows nest literally anywhere, like on fluorescent signs that let in a lot more light than a hole like this. Explain please?
How would this deter HOSP? I would think the heat of the sun beating down through that hole will raise the temperature in the nesting box to dangerous levels.
Twinwall polycarbonate is a special product used in the greenhouse industry. It helps to prevent the inside of the bird box from overheating. But be sure NOT to use a piece of ordinary plexiglass. You can find twinwall polycarbonate on Amazon. The big box stories don't carry it.
Didn't work for me. Sparrows have filled the skylight box with twigs. The house without skylight also has been taken over by sparrows. I tried emptying it daily, but they keep coming back. Now I leave it open but they still keep coming to it. I want to close it for bluebirds but sparrows keep occupying it.
If the box is being filled with twigs you have a wren problem. Sparrows fill the box with grasses, paper, plastic and all types of debris. Check out pictures of wren nests.
Thanks for that explanation. I was blaming the sparrows, but after your reply I did some research and sure enough the pictures of wren nests were exactly what I was finding in the bluebird houses. I have two houses, one with a "dummy" nest and the other with an active nest, which I left alone. I pulled the dummy nest out. Now to discourage the wrens from invading my bluebird houses.
@@shanemarcotte2062 I'm going to use plexiglass (an inch larger than the hole) and only cover the hole attaching it with screws at the corners, and use a rubber band under the plexiglass to seal it for leaks. I'll add extra vent holes at the top of each side. Much less expensive if your making lots of birdhouses.
They might prefer dark boxes but HOSP will nest just about anywhere including out in the open on Home Depot signs. They also nest in the rafters of many garden departments in stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart. They are NOT protected by US law and are an invasive species introduced to the US in the mid 1800's. The only way to control their numbers effectively is euthanasia unfortunately.
@@saragood8100 I don't welcome the bullies. That's what the house sparrows are. The sparrows aren't picky and will find tons of other places to live, but not the bluebirds. Can't count the number of years I'd have a nest of bluebirds, eggs or sometimes hatches, and the darn sparrows (I assume - nothing else can get in there) would kill them. I'd find them right in front of the nest on the ground dead. Or way across the yard in a birdbath. Never found a dead sparrow because the bluebirds don't usually kill them.
@@saragood8100 I don't like wrens; I've seen them peck holes in my bluebird's eggs. We have lots of them around and I can't stand the sound they make all day. Not much to do about it though, as they are native. I'd still rather have them than house sparrows!
Try this trap... we had house sparrows for the first time last summer due to having to cut a bunch of trees down. We use corn and suet as bait and it works well. I'm trying to spread the word, because we have to cut back the population of house sparrows to help the bluebirds. www.sparrowtraps.net/ Just follow the directions closely.
I have read from bluebird enthusiasts that this is a really bad idea because it could damage the eye development of nestlings and that on really hot days could end up cooking the eggs.
If the bluebirds nest "out in the open" as they have been for as long as they have been around then that destroys your theory of eye development damage.
Great. Now, we know how to build one. However, you failed to tell us WHY a skylight will deter sparrows -- which is equally, if not more, important than knowing how to build a skylight. Please do not assume that we are bird experts. If we were experts, we wouldn't need your video would we?
Agreed. I'm curious as to not only WHY the skylight works, but how he discovered that it works. What is the science behind it? Are there other techniques that will apply the principles and similarly deter other pest species like European Starlings? We'd like to know.
I hope you moved them out! My husband and I used this trap last summer to get rid of the sparrows that showed up for the first time on our property. We used corn and suet as bait. Just follow the instructions closely. Hope it helps. www.sparrowtraps.net/
There are several components to doing a pro job. One resource I discovered that successfully combines these is the Aviary Magic Method (check it out on google) definately the most incredible course i've heard of. look at this incredible website.
It is QUITE easy to understand they are BOTH enemies of NATIVE birds. Check out sialis.org if you don't think house sparrows are killers (or enemies, as you put it) of native, cavity nesting birds like bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows, etc. They attack their heads, rip the babies out of the nests, and what bodies they don't take out of the nest, they just build their nests right on top of. Disgusting house sparrows should be killed at every opportunity to protect our native, beautiful songbirds! I would MUCH rather listen to our native birds sing than the incessant, monotone chirping of house sparrows!
Bluebirds are nice looking and rare. Sparrows look like mud, and are common, in fact, downright invasive, killing other species and driving them into extinction. It's also legal to kill sparrows in most states, unlike Bluebirds. You are mistaken, so you should educate yourself.
@@shanemarcotte2062 Well, we took the advice of the man in this video and put skylights in all of our boxes. Haven't seen a single sparrow since, and have bluebirds in them instead. Miraculous!
If you use the link Mr. Rust provided you will find the explanation. “I took over a 20 box trail at Hempfield High School in 2012 that was completely infested with Sparrows due to lack of monitoring. After reading an article in Birds and Blooms that suggested letting light into the boxes to deter sparrows, I started drilling 2 1/2″ holes in the tops of the boxes and then covering them over with plexiglass to keep the water out. Within the first year the 15 boxes that I put skylights in were sparrow free, but the remaining 5 boxes had sparrows in them. So I decided to complete the trail so all 20 boxes had skylights. After doing that, the trail was completely sparrow free. To this day (5-5-15) the trail is completely sparrow free!”
~Dean Rust
Will the tree swallows use this box? I like swallows.
Does this keep them (sparrows) from going in and killing the baby blue birds that's my issue now, thought I'd ask?!
What about really hot days... couldn't this literally cook the eggs in the summer? I could see in the spring this might work. Also read that sunlight is really bad for eye development of the nestligs.
@@uhill74 Your box should already have adequate vent holes drilled into the top of the side boards. The bottom board should already have the cut corners. Two and half inch hole in the wooden top shouldn't really make a difference.
@@vernettegypsysoul812 We used a homemade "sparrow spooker" when we had house sparrows show up for the first time last summer. I'm happy to say it worked! The sparrows were harassing our nesting bluebirds...for example, the female sparrow was divebombing the female bluebird as she tried to feed her babies. I was SO upset! We also started using this trap and it worked well too. We used corn and suet as bait. Some people have good luck with popcorn or bread, too.
www.sparrowtraps.net/
Dear Dean, For the past two years I have lost many bluebird eggs and babies to sparrows. I tried your skylight in my 6 boxes, and I am delighted to report NOT one sparrow to be seen in any of the boxes. Thank you so much for solving a problem that was driving me crazy. I don't really care why it works: I am just delighted that it does and you shared your findings.
A practical application that I have not seen anywhere else, for deterring house sparrows. Thank you!
Sparrows primarily look for a partially closed cavity to nest greatly preferring a solid covering over head. Bluebirds being an open forest/meadow not dependent on human habitats are not disturbed by an an opening that allows sunlight to enter their nesting cavity. They are not as picky in this regard. They normally look for a hollow in a tree which is cooler than a house with a sun roof. If you place a bird house with a sunroof in a warmer climates you may want to allow for a bit more venting due to the extra heat that comes from a skylight. Most hardware will have 1/2 inch up to 4 inch circular screened vents that are easy to spray paint and install. By not giving these sparrows perfect bird houses they may not evict the bluebird & look for an easier place to nest. However, if you have a large population of sparrows you could try placing extra boxes for them and they may then leave our bluebirds alone. I place a metal guard around the hole because squirrels and larger birds will enlarge the hole. If and when this happens the bluebirds will desert the nesting box. This method works most of the time. Remember Robins like bird houses too, take a look at their prefered boxes, you will get a better understanding of how diffrent bird think. Owls need boxes as too, what a treat to have them move in. Bats are the most beneficial animal to habe near by, but then need a body of water with in a couple of miles. Look up bat houses too, so easy to build as well.
thank you
I recently saw some moss in one of my bluebird houses; and I know from experience these birds are VERY persistent. I added the skylight & it did not return. Very good video !!!
Moss is used by chickadees.
You want chickadees, too!
@@saragood8100 I like chickadees too! For fifteen plus years i have had two bird houses about 15-20 feet apart, because of competition for a single house. Some years chickadees/others claimed both, so I made modifications to reserve one for bluebirds.
Wrens ran off the Chickadees in my little house 😢 I wonder if skylights would deter the Wrens too?
Thank you very much for your information and also for showing us how to improve our Bluebird Boxes. We have a big problem with Sparrows taking over our bluebird nesting boxes. This year we had no bluebirds at all in our 25 Boxes We will mount our boxes with this new skylight.
It sounds like you have a lot of sparrows! We had them show up on our property for the first time this past summer, harassing our nesting bluebirds. =( We started using this trap and it works very well... you have to follow the directions closely though.
www.sparrowtraps.net/
My husband also got me a pellet gun for my birthday I will have no problem using on the sparrows to protect my bluebirds! The only way to truly help the bluebirds is to lower the house sparrow population. Btw, we use corn and suet to attract the house sparrows to the trap. Some people have luck with popcorn and bread, too. Good luck, I hope your bluebirds come back.
@@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane I also got one of those traps last April and have caught and dispatched over 340 House Sparrows since. As a result, I had a nesting pair of Bluebirds last Spring/Summer that raised two clutches and currently have Tree Swallows occupying one of our two boxes and defending the other from House Sparrows.
@@douglaszylstra6942 WOW!!! That is awesome to hear! You are doing an amazing job helping the bluebirds and tree swallows! I can't believe you caught and dispatched that many house sparrows in just a year... that is a crazy amount! That just shows how prolific they can be and how they take over an area and push out native birds. Thank you so much for bringing back the natives... what a great success story!
Thank you for this information! I had not heard of doing this before, but I will do this with the boxes my son and I are making together.
Excellent info and demo! Thank you, Dean. God bless you 😊
This is a fantastic idea. Thank you so much for sharing this online.
I see this was posted many years ago so I am curious if anyone else has done this recently and had similar success. Also, has anyone used this successfully with tree swallows? It is that time of year and I want to use this for tree swallows in my back yard. Cheers!
Has anyone ever tried painting the inside of the roof white or light blue. People used to do this in the good ‘ol days to discourage nest building on house porches.
I'm trying an even easier solution because I have nothing to lose - sparrows just kicked the bluebirds out of the box a couple of days ago. I cut a hole in the top of the box and just attached the top of a Chinese takeout soup container with screws. It seems to function as a skylight and took me minutes to do.
This is a very good Idea I will try it this spring will try putting two washer under the plexiglass for vent will report back this fall!
Make sure you paint your nest boxes a light color like light tan or white. Especially if the boxes will receive any direct sun in the summer. I have tests on my channel that prove simple old weathered boxes at 88°F ambient can go to 108°F in a weathered box which is darker in color. Baby birds will start to die in the 107°F range.
Good to know, thank you! Looks like we have some work to do on our bluebird boxes before spring.
nope tried this it don't work. I throw out 15 to 20 nest from sparrows all spring. finally they give up. I now have a blue bird the first of June.
Won’t this cause the house to overheat?
Thank you soooo much for this video. May I ask you why don’t sparrows like this sky lite idea?
See first comment...
Interesting. Never heard this form of prevention.
I'm also anxious to learn how adding a skylight will deter sparrows from invading bluebird houses. If it works, I'm all for it.
8 years and still no answer ... lol
can just plain plexyglass work or would this get too hot in the box
Hi Dean can you provide a link where to get the polycarbonate? would plexiglass work ok instead?
I clicked the link in the description to see if I could buy one of their bluebird boxes, but they are completely sold out. I also noticed that their website hasn't been updated since 2016.
Will this deter other species I want to attract, like chickadees or finches? I haven't seen many bluebirds in my area, Southeast Pennsylvania. I would like to put up a next box, but I don't want sparrows in it.
Run fishing line around the base of the roof top, Sparrows will stay away and it doesn't bother the blue birds.
Nice. Will tree swallows still use the boxes?
Wish I could buy one of these. Sold out on website.
Is heat an issue with the skylight?
Does the skylight make the box too hot in 90degree weather?
Does this effect temperature inside box? It can get into low 100s here for few weeks here in Hershey Park
Hershey Pa (very close to Hershey park)
I'd heard of the hole in the roof but no the plexiglass to cover the hole. Do tree swallows nest in such boxes?
Someone answer this man, he's birding royalty. I'll find out for you this spring.
To keep the RAIN OUT.
My new birdhouse box came with a small plexiglass side window on it, will that work just as well?
Wished I'd seen this sooner. I have a pair of blues nesting in my yard right now. The best I can do is shoot the sparrows if I happen to catch them at the bluebird house. After all, I can't work on the house since the blues are nesting in it. I tend to wonder though, does the hole in the top not discourge the bluebirds as well?
No, because they are forest critters and don't mind nesting in partially open crevices.
If there's a bird on the nest that is legal to kill, you could kill it by putting a netting bag over the opening, then rap on the box and when it flies out, you have it and can then kill it. Much easier than shooting. Safer, too.
I find the bluebirds like to perch on the roof but can't because of the slickness of the plexiglass. They are checking out the box today. Is there a way to make it so they can stand on the roof?
What about putting the plexiglass on the inside, rather than the exterior?
Thanks Reggie. Good idea. These were already made for me but I ended up gluing strips of wood across the front of the top to give them wood perch for their feet. Now to just wait for them to come back.
Good point. I am going to modify mine & remove the lower half of the glass covering. The roof hole will still be covered.
@@hennypenny97 That would allow rain to enter the box.
Will this method deter House Wrens and Swallows?
From what I could find of people who have put up this design and monitored it, both wrens and swallows will use these skylight boxes.
How about if the entire roof is plexiglass? Would that be too much for the bluebirds? I have seen them nesting in boxes with no roof.
I'm on it---THANKS!
We added the skylight to our bluebird house and today I saw a sparrow go into the box. My husband checked the box and sure enough..the sparrows have nested in the box. I need other ideas please.
Mine too.
Oh no! 😢
Mylar or aluminum strips, maybe, hanging from an old umbrella over the bird house(Attached to the back?)
What I'm not understanding is that house sparrows nest literally anywhere, like on fluorescent signs that let in a lot more light than a hole like this. Explain please?
I have both Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows in my area. Will Tree Swallows nest in a box with a skylight?
Won't the sky light make it too hot in the box?
Hello Mr. Rust! I'm curious to know why the skylight works to deter sparrows? Thanks so much for the video!
How would this deter HOSP? I would think the heat of the sun beating down through that hole will raise the temperature in the nesting box to dangerous levels.
birdbrain56 -
What is a HOSP? If you want to teach, you must keep in mind that your audience might not be bird experts.
Teresa G,
WHO likes dark places? You omitted the subject of your sentence.
HOSP = House Sparrows. . . the subject of the video. Never claimed to be a teacher. :)
Twinwall polycarbonate is a special product used in the greenhouse industry. It helps to prevent the inside of the bird box from overheating. But be sure NOT to use a piece of ordinary plexiglass. You can find twinwall polycarbonate on Amazon. The big box stories don't carry it.
Doesn't work
What is the reason for the skylight?
Plz see Mudiver's comment.
Okay so what's the whole purpose for sky light? Dean never tells why it's a good idea. Anyone care to let me in on secret ?
We used plexiglass glass. Is that ok too?
Thanks!
I hope this works I just tried this today I’m hoping those sparrows want take over this box.
Didn't work for me. Sparrows have filled the skylight box with twigs. The house without skylight also has been taken over by sparrows. I tried emptying it daily, but they keep coming back. Now I leave it open but they still keep coming to it. I want to close it for bluebirds but sparrows keep occupying it.
If the box is being filled with twigs you have a wren problem. Sparrows fill the box with grasses, paper, plastic and all types of debris. Check out pictures of wren nests.
Thanks for that explanation. I was blaming the sparrows, but after your reply I did some research and sure enough the pictures of wren nests were exactly what I was finding in the bluebird houses.
I have two houses, one with a "dummy" nest and the other with an active nest, which I left alone. I pulled the dummy nest out.
Now to discourage the wrens from invading my bluebird houses.
Is what he uses the same as plexiglass?
No... this has airflow between panels, so it stays cooler
@@gatostanley4923 Thank you very much for the reply. Would plexi glass be a huge no? Or possibly be okay to use?
@@shanemarcotte2062 I'm going to use plexiglass (an inch larger than the hole) and only cover the hole attaching it with screws at the corners, and use a rubber band under the plexiglass to seal it for leaks. I'll add extra vent holes at the top of each side. Much less expensive if your making lots of birdhouses.
@@lostaboutnow thanks for the reply. I went ahead and ordered a sheet of what he uses. I only have 1 nest box. Good thing! That stuff is expensive!
I'm wondering the same thing. Why does the skylight deter the sparrows?
They might prefer dark boxes but HOSP will nest just about anywhere including out in the open on Home Depot signs. They also nest in the rafters of many garden departments in stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart. They are NOT protected by US law and are an invasive species introduced to the US in the mid 1800's. The only way to control their numbers effectively is euthanasia unfortunately.
will that work for chickadees?
Fire ants got my baby bluebirds
Alvin Hutchinson I learned corn meal is a safe way to kill ants. It expands when they eat it, killing them.
Poor babies. What a horrible way to die. =(
Excellent to see that woodprix has new plans what helped me save some money and energy to build it.
Does not work!!!!!!
what's the width and hight of the cedar?
Tried this. Still get sparrows.
How on Earth did you figure this out? I noticed that you are wearing a deep blue shirt. Is it possible that you, Sir are indeed ....
So there's no explanation as to why sparrow's don't like a sky light but blue birds do?
Sparrows nest in enclosed areas, bluebirds are in the open and are not bothered by the sunlight on the nest.
Will this also work on Wrens ?
G Bouc doubtful
I welcome any native species, including wrens.
@@saragood8100 I don't welcome the bullies. That's what the house sparrows are. The sparrows aren't picky and will find tons of other places to live, but not the bluebirds. Can't count the number of years I'd have a nest of bluebirds, eggs or sometimes hatches, and the darn sparrows (I assume - nothing else can get in there) would kill them. I'd find them right in front of the nest on the ground dead. Or way across the yard in a birdbath. Never found a dead sparrow because the bluebirds don't usually kill them.
@@saragood8100 I don't like wrens; I've seen them peck holes in my bluebird's eggs. We have lots of them around and I can't stand the sound they make all day. Not much to do about it though, as they are native. I'd still rather have them than house sparrows!
@@marvinmartian8746 Try this trap... it worked for us! We use corn or suet for bait.
www.sparrowtraps.net/
Just follow the directions closely.
Does anyone know if you can just buy them this way? Thanks!
The site "Bluebirdconservation.com" sells them ready made. But they are currently out of stock! I hope this helps you.
I like and will use this but I have a problem with snakes.
Try putting lava rock around the pole/post. Snakes hate it.
No guarantees with sparrows...catch them and kill them
tried this, it didn't work
Try this trap... we had house sparrows for the first time last summer due to having to cut a bunch of trees down. We use corn and suet as bait and it works well. I'm trying to spread the word, because we have to cut back the population of house sparrows to help the bluebirds.
www.sparrowtraps.net/
Just follow the directions closely.
I have read from bluebird enthusiasts that this is a really bad idea because it could damage the eye development of nestlings and that on really hot days could end up cooking the eggs.
If the bluebirds nest "out in the open" as they have been for as long as they have been around then that destroys your theory of eye development damage.
@@lostaboutnow great point!
Great.
Now, we know how to build one. However, you failed to tell us WHY a skylight will deter sparrows -- which is equally, if not more, important than knowing how to build a skylight. Please do not assume that we are bird experts. If we were experts, we wouldn't need your video would we?
Sometimes you dont need to know why something works.
Just that it does.
Agreed. I'm curious as to not only WHY the skylight works, but how he discovered that it works. What is the science behind it? Are there other techniques that will apply the principles and similarly deter other pest species like European Starlings? We'd like to know.
Dean said that the Sparrows don't like the light coming into the boxes. Blues don't seem to mind.
And he discovered that HOW?
Because they don't like light. Probably discovered by experimentation. ;)
Why?
They don't like light.
If that annoying bird in the background is yours..
You need to find a new hobby man
I’m sorry to report that this DID NOT work for me. Sparrows moved right in and I’m PISSED!!!
I wonder how many other people had this fail. Makes me nervous to try it but I so would like to get the sparrows out. Did you try anything else?
I hope you moved them out! My husband and I used this trap last summer to get rid of the sparrows that showed up for the first time on our property. We used corn and suet as bait. Just follow the instructions closely. Hope it helps.
www.sparrowtraps.net/
There are several components to doing a pro job. One resource I discovered that successfully combines these is the Aviary Magic Method (check it out on google) definately the most incredible course i've heard of. look at this incredible website.
SLM
You know, it's not that hard to undestand that HOSP is not the enemy of any bird. The real enemies are cats.
It is QUITE easy to understand they are BOTH enemies of NATIVE birds. Check out sialis.org if you don't think house sparrows are killers (or enemies, as you put it) of native, cavity nesting birds like bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows, etc. They attack their heads, rip the babies out of the nests, and what bodies they don't take out of the nest, they just build their nests right on top of. Disgusting house sparrows should be killed at every opportunity to protect our native, beautiful songbirds! I would MUCH rather listen to our native birds sing than the incessant, monotone chirping of house sparrows!
I was all into this project 'til you said it was gonna cost me around $2😔....lol.
BSDK
Blue.Birds.are.blue.Sparrows.that.is.idiotic.
Bluebirds are nice looking and rare. Sparrows look like mud, and are common, in fact, downright invasive, killing other species and driving them into extinction. It's also legal to kill sparrows in most states, unlike Bluebirds. You are mistaken, so you should educate yourself.
@@porkyfedwell house Sparrows are not protected anywhere in the US. They are the rats of the bird world! Kill them any chance you get!
@@shanemarcotte2062 I would, if they were easier to kill!
porkyfedwell get a trap from Vanert!
@@shanemarcotte2062 Well, we took the advice of the man in this video and put skylights in all of our boxes. Haven't seen a single sparrow since, and have bluebirds in them instead. Miraculous!
$2 of my money? Not for all those supplies.
gerardo contreras the plexiglass lone is 10
Cost of lethal control which some prefer is higher
So bluebirds lives aren't worth 2 bucks? Cheapskate.
@@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane I was saying that stuff couldnt be bought for only $2
@@gerardocontreras6098 Huh, didn't come across that way to me... sorry! OK, you're not a cheapskate! =)